The Door To Doom
The Door To Doom is the twelfth studio album by Swedish Epic Doom Metal band Candlemass. Released on 22 February release it is notably the first album to feature original singer Johan Längquist in 33 years, having previously appeared on the iconic 1986 album Epicus Doomicus Metallicus. It is also the band's first album since 2012's Psalms For The Dead, despite claims from bandleader Leif Edling that Psalms was intended to be the final studio album. Background Work would begin on a twelfth studio album as early as 2018 with the band hinting at new material. Originally Mats Levén was going to be the singer for this record as he had previously sung on the band's last two EPs Death Thy Lover and House of Doom. However in August Johan Längquist would return to Candlemass, his first live appearance returning with the band at the Southern Discomfort Festival in Kristiansand, Norway.Metal Injection Through September and October Candlemass would upload "Snippets of Doom" on their official YouTube, showing that a new album was indeed in the works with Längquist.Candlemass YouTubeCandlemass YouTubeCandlemass YouTube On 10 December 2018 The Door To Doom would officially be announced and set for a 22 February release. Notably the song "Astorolus - The Great Octopus" would feature a guest spot by Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), to which it would be spoken about in the press release: On 30 January 2019 the band would upload a NSFW music video for "Astorolus - The Great Octopus" to promote the album. A couple weeks prior the band had revealed the albums' closer in "The Omega Circle". On 20 February 2019 Kerrang! would stream the entire album along with interviewing Längquist to which he'd speak about his return to the band: The Door To Doom would be released on 22 February 2019 in CD, Digital and a special collectors box limited to 500. A 45RPM double LP would also be available in Black (Unlimited), Red (500 copies; Mailorder exclusive), Blue/Yellow (500 copies; Doom Over Sweden edition) and Gold (300 copies; Mailorder exclusive). The Japanese CD edition would notably contain the entire House of Doom EP as bonus tracks. The Door To Doom has attained significant critical praise, a common theme of referring to the band as "rejuvenated and breathing new life". Doodlehound (Giving a "highly recommended" rating) described it as "a fantastic album not just among Candlemass records but among doom records as a whole" and that "Candlemass did the impossible"Doodlehound while Exclaim! would give an 8 out of 10, describing it as "slow-motion Judas Priest" and praising "Astorolus – The Great Octopus" as a "showstopper standout".Exclaim! Metal Injection would give the album a perfect 10/10 score, with reviewer Lauren Mercyr describing it as supremely gratifying from a variety of perspectives, also mentioning that initial skepticism of the record was quickly washed away.Metal Injection The Obelisk would also praise The Door To Doom while observing the fear this album could be truly their last but ultimately closes the review with the album "adding an essential and unexpected chapter to their story that they’ve given such a righteous beginning here".The Obelisk On 20 November 2019 it would be announced that "Astorolus - The Great Octopus" would be nominated for "Best Metal Performance" at the 2020 Grammy Awards.Candlemass Facebook Astorolus would also attain a Swedish Grammis nomination and a German Grammy nomination. Tracklist All music and lyrics by Leif Edling. *1. Splendor Demon Majesty (5:29) *2. Under The Ocean (6:13) *3. Astorolus - The Great Octopus (6:42) *4. Bridge Of The Blind (3:44) *5. Death's Wheel (6:51) *6. Black Trinity (6:05) *7. House Of Doom (6:27) *8. The Omega Circle (7:17) Personnel *'Leif Edling' - Bass *'Johan Längquist' - Vocals *'Jan Lindh' - Drums *'Mats Björkman' - Rhythm Guitar *'Lars Johansson' - Lead Guitar *'Tony Iommi' - Guitar (3) *'Rickard Nilsson' - Keyboards (1, 3, 4) *'Carl Westholm' - Mellotron (4) *'Andreas "Habo" Johansson' - Drums (8; Outro) *'Jennie-Ann Smith' - Backing Vocals *'Stefan Berggren' - Backing Vocals *'Mats Levén' - Backing Vocals *'Michael Blair' - Percussion *'Marcus Jidell' - Assorted Additional Instruments, Producer *'Niklas Flyckt' - Mixing *'Svante Forsbäck' - Mastering *'Beatrice Edling' - Layout *'Erik Rovanperä' - Artwork *'Kinan Faham' - Photography (Hearse) *'Anders Pålsson' - Photography (Retouching) External Links *Loudwire Interview on The Door To Doom *Interview via Revolver *Blabbermouth *Toilet ov Hell Review *Review via The Soundboard Reviews *Review via Roppongi Rocks *Review via Metal Riot *Review via Metal Observer References Category:Release Category:Studio Album Category:Stockholm Category:Sweden Category:Candlemass Category:Doom Metal Category:Epic Doom Metal Category:Leif Edling Category:Johan Längquist Category:Tony Iommi